Lots of Dogs

(Tucson, AZ) After a relaxing morning (we sure needed one after what we’ve had to do each morning all week), we took Boogie and we headed off for a large AKC trial that was being held at the fairgrounds in Tucson.

We were going there to meet Harriet, one of Boogie’s breeders. She was going to show us around and introduce us to an activity she would like Boogie to participate in – conformation.

I really had mixed feelings about this. Eons ago I was involved in the world of dog showing. Of course my dog, a German Shepherd, was the best (big smile) but I found that the world of dog showing was extremely political. I could often tell you whether we’d win or not just depending on who the judge was. After a while the politics really got to me (heck I was only a kid even) and I decided that world just wasn’t for me. As an aside, my dog Chris, was an American and Canadian Champion. Wow, tears still come to my eyes when I write about her. She was my dog all while I was growing up – definitely my best friend.

Back to the present time! This show was huge as they had conformation, obedience, agility, and rally. There were 20 different rings and scads of vendors. We looked all around trying to find Harriet but weren’t having much luck in the sea of people and dogs. We were warned that this might be a little overwhelming for Boogie so we were to have lots of treats and be very careful. Boogie was very curious about everything but didn’t seem afraid at all – not even inside the noisy building where a lot of the grooming tables were all set up and some of the conformation was taking place.

When we finally found Harriet, she was set up under a huge tent right in front of one of the agility rings. Our good friend Billie was with her as well as some other people we know. They made us feel very welcome even though we felt a little out of place – and a little bit like traitors. Here we were at a place that wouldn’t even allow our other three dogs to set foot on the property. I don’t know about Mike but that was hard for me.

We watched Billie and a couple of our other friends compete in the agility ring. It really didn’t look much like agility to us. The dogs couldn’t build up any speed at all as the obstacles were all so close together. This kind of agility is good for dogs that are consistent but maybe not so fast. In her prime I think Wazzu could have been a superstar at this….if allowed to participate. I guess that’s why they didn’t allow her – she’d have taken all the prizes from the purebreds.

Wow, I sure seem to getting off track a lot in this write-up! After watching agility for a while, Harriet took us over to watch some Rally. Rally is a bit like obedience but a lot less strict – which in many people’s opinion makes it a lot more fun. We’d really like Boogie to be a versatile dog and get to try many different things so Rally is in the near future for him as well. The dog only needs to be six months of age to participate so he is already old enough – he just doesn’t know anything yet!

After watching Rally for a while, Harriet took us over to the vendor area and walked through all the vendors with us showing us all the different things we may need or things that would be good to use with Boogie. It was fun seeing all the different items that people were selling. When Mike first heard there were going to be lots of vendors here he said “oh no.” But I was good and we only bought a couple little items. We bought some soft liver treats that Harriet recommended and a stuffed (fake) rat that Boogie stole from the shelf. Maybe he won’t get to go along on future shopping trips!

We went back to the tent to visit and watch some more agility. Boogie had fun playing around with Mimi for quite some time. Then his buddy, Korke that he met at a trial in Las Cruces showed up. More wrestling and playing for Boogie. But it was a hot day and we’d been there for quite a few hours so we needed to head out as we were worried the other dogs were getting hot back in the RV.

It was warm in the RV when we got back but the dogs were all okay as we’d left the fan on and had left them lots of water. They didn’t seem happy that they’d been left behind while Boogie got to go along. We tried to explain to them that he puts up with a lot on the weekends where they get to do agility and he just has to sit around and watch. I don’t think they listened to a word of it.

When I walked into the RV I didn’t feel level. Mike of course immediately told me it was just all in my mind. But he should know by now that I am the perfect human level. Sure enough, we checked and we were not level and the rig had lost air pressure. We were both pretty discouraged. This meant we’d have more days of trying to be gone from home all day long.

We leveled the RV up again just hoping beyond hope that when we awake in the morning we’ll still be level. Think level for us!!

Debbie
11/16/07